Yahoo plus AOL, now called Oath

Verizon is taking AOL and Yahoo! and rebranding them as Oath. Jose Sepulveda(@josesepulvedatv) has more.
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The Justice Department is expected to announce charges as soon as tomorrow related to hacking attacks that compromised millions of Yahoo user accounts, according to a U. S. official.(Photo: Michael Probst, Associated Press)

NEW YORK — It doesn't look like AOL Mail and Yahoo Finance are going to give way to Oath Mail and Oath Finance.

But when Verizon closes its $4.8 billion purchase of Yahoo it'll put the two old, yet still popular internet brands under one new entity: Oath. The surprise name was announced Monday afternoon on Twitter by AOL CEO Tim Armstrong, in what some thought was a late April Fools Joke.

"In the summer of 2017, you can bet we will be launching one of the most disruptive brand companies in digital," Armstrong said in an emailed statement to USA TODAY.

Yahoo did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Oath would not be the first media company to take on a strange rebranding. Last year Tribune Publishing Co., owners of the Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times, changed its name to Tronc, much to the internet's delight.

As one would expect, the internet was equally perplexed with Verizon's naming announcement, with "Oath" quickly becoming a trending topic on Twitter and users flooding the site to share their thoughts on the new name.

But Armstrong reiterated in an appearance Tuesday morning on CNBC, that the AOL and Yahoo brands will remain.